To Take Care of Heros
by poopertrooper
Summary: Tony, Steve, and Bruce have all been turned into toddlers, and S.H.E.I.L.D. recruits Alfred F. Jones and Arthur Kirkland to take care of them while they find a cure. What kind of stuff will happen? Will America and England get too nostalgic? The world may never know, but you can! Rated T cause of sexual mentions.
1. Chapter 1

"So, you two are telling me that Iron Man, Hulk, _and_ Captain America have somehow been reversed to the ages of toddlers? And that you cannot help me and Alfred with them?" Arthur Kirkland asked, sending a long glare over at Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton, who were actually the Black Widow and Hawkeye.

"Hey, don't blame us. Fury and the rest of S.H.E.I.L.D. have our asses everywhere, so we don't have the free time to take care of tots." Hawkeye protested.

"All right, you two be like that, but once your shield-y organization gets around to even _finding_ a cure for them, Fury will need a word with me about all this baby-sitting bollocks."

"So you and Alfred will take them in?" Hawkeye asked, sounding almost relieved as he set a sleeping Bruce on the couch beside him.

"Yes, we will. Of course we'll have to prepare, but that will be nearly next to nothing to get done. One last thing: Do not think that your fellow agents can just come and any time and intervene with our care of these lads. We will call your headquarters as needed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the assassin duo responded, for Arthur was technically a superior, representing the country of Britain.

After that, they left the three sleeping toddlers in Arthur's care, who was awaiting Alfred's return from a White House meeting in D.C. Boy, would he be so excited for these kids.

It did not take long into Arthur's daily chore-doing that one of the children decided to wake up. Bruce of all toddlers.

"Where am I? I'm hungry." Bruce murmured, getting up on his knees on the sofa.

"You are at my house, where you and the other two will be staying for a short period. Please call me Arthur, if you must. If you're really hungry, just wait a few minutes, and I'm sure my boyfriend Alfred will be back with something to eat he usually does…Hopefully." Arthur answered, picking Bruce up into his arms.

Bruce giggled as his soft skin made contact with Arthur's red wool sweater. "Sweater tickly!" he laughed, grabbing at it, as if experimenting its feel in his hands. He most certainly still had the scientist in him still.

"Indeed it is. This keeps me warm, just like your cool Hulk shirt does." Arthur replied, poking at Bruce's t-shirt.

Right about then, there was a _thump!_ And then there was the running figure of little Tony Stark going past him.

"Uh-ohhh! Tony's gonna get nakey now!" Bruce exclaimed, bouncing in Arthur's hold. "If Steve finds out, he's gonna get mad and cry!"

Arthur sighed and set Bruce down on the sofa again, patting his black hair gently. "Well, if that is what's about to happen, then I should go and stop him before he does. Stay here while I go and retrieve him, _stay out of trouble._"

For a moment, this scene reminded him of the days when he was taking care of Alfred and Matthew, though that was over two hundred years before. He almost hoped that taking care of these three wouldn't bring back painful memories, but who knows? They probably would, his mind was truly a mess.

Arthur ran out of the room once he got a "Yes, sir." from Bruce, and it did not take much looking down the main hall before he eventually found a stark-naked (pun intended) Tony exploring Arthur and Alfred's bedroom. When Tony realized another presence in the room, he turned like he was going to leave, only to see Arthur.

"Ah…..Oops?" Tony muttered, covering his little manhood with his still chubby hands. _At least the boy-genius had some form of modesty._

"Quite an oops, Tony. Come over here. I'm not punishing you if that's what you're thinking. I only intend to find you clothes so Steve doesn't get upset." Arthur said calmly, patting a spot on the bed as he sat on it.

Tony complied and crawled onto the bed next to Arthur, who was then opening a chest of shirts and other odd clothing pieces at the foot of the bed. The boy quickly caught sight of a fancy-looking pirate hat, and tried to reach it, only to have Arthur block him. "That hat is very important to me. You will _not_ touch it. Understood?"

"Sorry, Mr. Arthur." Tony murmured, leaning into Arthur's side, putting his thumb in his mouth, though he would later deny it.

"If you are extra good this evening, then I might try to get you a pirate hat of your own, if you want. Now let's get you into this shirt."

Arthur detached Tony from his side and presented him with an _Anarchy In The UK _shirt that was definitely oversized for the nearly four-year-old. Tony immediately grabbed it and attempted to get it over his head. After he struggled for a good minute trying to get his head through the sleeve hole, Arthur took control and helped out, getting it on quickly.

Then the door opened, revealing a sobbing Steve and a worried Bruce. Arthur got up off of the bed and went over to them, crouching down at their level so they could talk directly to him. "Oh, what's the matter here, you two?" Arthur inquired, letting Steve tumble into his lap.

"There was a spider on the floor, and Steve got scared. I told him that you were here somewhere, and we found you!" Bruce replied, sitting next to him on the floor.

Arthur looked down at Steve as the boy buried his head into his sweater. Steve greatly reminded him of Alfred, which brought back the colony memories once more. He could nearly see it as if it were there. Steve was Alfred, having just been spooked by the latest 'ghost', and Matthew was Bruce, telling Arthur what had happened and reassuring Alfred that everything would be all right.

"Uh, Mr. Arthur. Are there any toys here? I'm bored…And hungry! I want a grilled cheese sandwich!" Tony whined, slamming his hands onto the bed, snapping Arthur out of his remembering.

"Very well. I might be able to fix something up really quick, if only to keep you from losing your minds. Follow me to the kitchen."

Arthur got up off the hardwood floor; Steve cradled in his arms, and made his way out of the room. Tony and Bruce followed suit with the patter of their little feet. They talked about training pants, which reminded him that he would need to get some from the store that evening, more for Bruce and Steve then Tony. He then realized that he didn't know how old they were.

Once the Brit and the three tots got to the kitchen, there stood Alfred next to the table, which had five bags of….McDonald'. Figures, as it _is _Alfred.

"Hey guys! I heard about the new troops, haha! Thought everyone'd be hungry, so I went in the Drive-Thru and got some good 'ol Mickey D's!" Alfred laughed, going over to greet them.

"Yes! Food for me! I've been hungry since almost forever!" Tony cheered, getting a snippy scientific muttering from Bruce saying how he was wrong about the 'forever' concept.

Bruce then turned his attention to the Happy Meal boxes and white meal bags. "Is there an Apple Pie in there?" he asked timidly, going over the chair next to where Tony had sat.

"Yeah, even though I was gonna eat it; you can have it if you want!" Alfred replied, looking over to be sure Tony wasn't getting into mischief. He had hung around with Tony before, so he knew how the former playboy acted.

"Food?" Steve questioned softly, wide baby-blue eyes filled with a childish wonder.

"Yeah, there's food for you too, little guy. Can you feed yourself?" the American implored, sitting next to Tony.

"Uh-huh. Table too high though…." Steve replied, looking at the seating with concern as he fidgeted in Arthur's arms.

"I'll just let you sit in Alfred's lap. I'm sure you don't mind, do you, Alf love?" Arthur consoled, looking at Alfred with a deadly glare, getting an 'ohhh' from Tony.

"Of course! Hand him over here! He can sit in my lap while he eats his meal."

Arthur passed Steve over to his lover, who neatly put the toddler in his lap. Even the couple extra inches, he needed the older man's help with passing the food over to him.

At the end of the meal, Arthur seemed to be the only one who _hadn't _gotten his face or front mussed with sauces and catsup.

"Alfie, Tony looks funny. Goopy Tony!" Steve giggled, bouncing in Alfred's lap as he observed Tony covered in large globs of ranch sauce.

Bruce and Alfred laughed along with Steve as Arthur went and began to wipe the sauce off of Tony's face with a cloth. "You sure did get messy, didn't you?" he chuckled, sending a quick swipe down Tony's cheek.

"Well, I did keep missing my mouth, but only on accident! Bruce's story about the Glo-bunnies was really cool!" Tony protested, sitting as still as a toddler could as his face was cleaned.

"Hey, kiddos. I want to ask you guys a few questions so I can get to know you better, how's that sound to you? You don't have to answer anything I ask if you don't want to." Alfred asked. All the boys nod, letting him proceed. "First things first, just how old are you anyway?"

"I'm gonna be four soon!" Tony shouted, promptly getting told by Arthur to 'use his inside voice'.

"I'm three now, Mister Alfred." Bruce answered with a small smile and three chubby fingers held up.

"Two." Steve said bluntly, quickly shoving his left thumb into his mouth.

"Awesome, and next thing. Are you guys potty-trained? I just wanna know so we don't have any potty problems around here." Alfred shooted the next question.

"I still wet the bed at night…But Tasha said that I could probably wear both pull-ups or big-boy undies!" Tony replied, looking proud as he said the last part.

"I wear pull-ups all day and night. But I'm learning how though. I can go without having someone around, or so Mister Clint said." Bruce said, swinging his legs back and forth.

"Diapee. Tasha says dat I can't wear pull-up yet." Steve said sadly, leaning into Alfred's chest.

_**Later on, at Target**_

Soon after the meal, the group of five was in Target, currently finding things for the three boys to have while they stayed at Arthur and Alfred's place. They were in the clothes section, and Tony was extremely bored once he had had a say in his pajamas. Arthur had said that he and Alfred would pick out their day clothes, and that they would not complain 'or else', whatever that meant.

Of course Steve wouldn't complain. He was only a dumb-butt two-year-old who couldn't care less as long as he was attached to Alfred at the hip. Bruce probably wouldn't complain either, he wouldn't dare get himself into trouble for some clothes.

The Stark boy decided right then and there that he would make his way to the toy isle. He had seen it on the way to this isle, so all he had to do was backtrack there, and then go back. He highly doubted that Alfred and Arthur would be going anywhere, so he figured that he'd be fine as long as he got back quickly.

He checked to be sure that no one, not even Steve, was looking at him. That was all-clear. Now all he had to do was bolt. That's just what he did thirty-milliseconds later.

Soon, he was running down the big, tiled "main road" of the store, looking left and right for the toy isle. It did not take long for him to find the display that had caught his eye when he had passed. The display housed a large Iron-Man action figure. It was so cool! The figure was perfect, as if he invented it himself. Oh, how he wished he had. Or at least been a part of it somehow. Red and gold _were_ his favorite colors, and the face had the same determined look he had given himself in the mirror when he was still in the clothing isle. _This was totally his hero._

"I gotta ask Mr. Arthur to buy this for me! This is awesomest robot ever!" He said cheerfully, hopping on his toes in excitement.

Before he could go any further, a hand grabbed his shoulder and steered him around. _It was Arthur. Boy, he did _not _look happy. _Tony tried to struggle his way out the grasp, only to have it tightened.

"Tony. _Why _in Christ's name are you here? Do you even know how scared we all were!?" Arthur asked, trying so hard not to yell at the child, knowing that that would not go well. "We thought that you had been _kidnapped_!"

"I…I-I'm sorry, Mr. Arthur! I wasn't going to be gone long! Clothing shopping was boring, so I came over here to look at the Iron Man action figure!" Tony said, trembling under Arthur's hand.

"But you never told anyone, and we never saw you leave, when we saw that you were gone, we instantly thought the worst. Do you know how nerve-racking that is?" Arthur then sighed heavily before letting go of Tony's shoulder. "Tony, love. Don't do that again, do you understand me?"

"I won't ever-ever-ever go away without telling someone ever again. I'm really sorry that I made everyone upset." Tony stammered, trying to keep the tears that threatened to come out from escaping.

"Good. Now let's go back to everyone else and you will apologize to them."

Arthur offered his hand, which Tony gratefully took, liking the warm, protected feeling it gave him. Certainly not like a robot's cold hand. Maybe Mr. Arthur was a slightly better person than Iron Man. _Just maybe._

Once they got back with the rest of the group in the electronics section, Tony quickly apologized to everyone, getting forgiveness from everyone. Of course it took Steve a minute before he forgave, but that was because he was entranced by the large, HD televisions.

"Tony, come over here for a second will you?" Alfred called over from where he was at the DVDs, close enough to Steve so he could keep an eye on him.

Tony reluctantly walked away from Arthur over to Alfred, afraid that he was in trouble with him too. Boy, would he be surprised.

"I know you haven't had your best evening, so I thought that you could pick out a couple DVDs like Bruce and Steve got to. Do you want to?"

"Okay. Can they be _anything_?" Tony asked, looking at the DVDs with wonder.

"As long as it's appropriate, like, not Titanic. Or 300. And especially _not_ Sweeny Todd."

Tony nodded in understanding, and then went down the shelves, not taking long before he found the DVD he wanted. It was _"The Tigger Movie"_. He thought that it would be good, so he took the DVD off of the shelf and ran back over to Alfred, who was reading the back of a Johnny Depp movie DVD.

"Great!" Alfred said, looking away from the DVD. "You can just put that one in the cart, and you can pick out one more if you want."

"Okay! This is actually kinda fun, Mr. Alfred!" Tony cheered, hugging Alfred's leg, catching him by surprise.

"I'm glad to hear it, now go pick out your next movie. We're not going to stay here much longer. We gotta get you three a bath and then right on to bed when we get home."

Tony went back over to the cartoons he had been looking at, when he quickly saw one that looked just as good as the last. This one was called _"Captain America: The First Avenger"_

When he showed Alfred this next choice, the American smiled a small smile, as if he was almost pained by it.

"Is something wrong with my choice, Mr. Alfred? I'll put it back if you don't want me to get it." Tony asked worriedly, now filled with hesitation.

"No, no. That's just a really sad movie is all. You ready to go to the checkout and then home?"

"Okay, I'm not tired though, so I'm not going to bed or anything like that."

"Whatever you say, kiddo. But you'll probably be saying different when we get home."

_**At Home, not quite two hours later….**_

Steve was having a jolly good time as he was washed by Arthur, who thought he was just the most adorable thing when he was happy. The blond was playing with some bath-tub toys he had gotten at Target, and was getting scrubbed gently by Arthur, who was playing pirates with him using his non-scrubbing hand.

"Arggh mateys! I have landed ashore on Steve-Island! Now I shall go and plunder some treasures!" Arthur growled in his ever-so-good pirate speech, pushing a boat onto Steve's leg.

"Where will ye find twesure on Steve-iswand?" Steve asked, giggling as the foam boat tickled his leg.

"On belly-button canyon, of course!" Arthur replied, tickling the boy's belly-button, getting out some wet, gray lint.

"Eww!" Steve laughed, trying to push away the tickling hands.

"Aye, I seem to 'ave found some rare sliver here!"

Meanwhile, Alfred was upstairs trying to get Tony and Bruce to stop playing with their new toys long enough to get into pajamas.

"If you don't stop anytime soon, Steve will be asleep before you!" Alfred said to the two boys, who chose to ignore him and continue playing "Iron Man vs. The Hulk" on Tony's bed.

"RAWRR! HULK SMASH!" Bruce yelled, clashing his figure against Tony's Iron Man figure.

Tony pretended that the figure had been slightly shaken, but then got up again, making 'whooshing' sounds as Iron Man attacked the Hulk again. "Iron Man has really strong armor, not even Hulk can smash!" he indicated as the Hulk went down, Bruce making groaning noises.

"Oh nooo! Hulk reverts back thanks to Iron Man!" Bruce exclaimed, placing his figure down on the bed next to him.

"All right boys, you really need to get in your jammies so we all can go to bed." Alfred said, picking Bruce up off of the bed, then placing him on the floor in front of the dresser that Tony and Bruce would be sharing.

"Can I wear my Hulk pajamas Mister Alfred?" Bruce asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Only if you say the magic word, Brucie."

"Uh…Is that please? Or was it Thank you?"

"You had it right the first time, kiddo. Now you say 'Thank you' because I'm going to let you wear your Hulk pajamas."

"Oh! Thank you, Mister Alfred!"

Tony watched as Bruce was dressed into his pull-ups and pajamas, and wanted so badly to stay up later. But tonight, he was going to be a good boy, because he knew that Mr. Arthur and Mr. Alfred would appreciate it if he didn't raise any more heck. He did decide to ask why he had to go to bed at only 7:30, though.

"Uh, Mr. Alfred. Why do Bruce and I have to go to bed before eight? What's so special about 7:30?" the boy asked, peering over the edge of the bed.

"Because that's when most kids go to bed. It's right before all the good not for little kid shows come on TV and it gives kids time to go to sleep before the show comes on." Alfred explained, slipping the top over Bruce's head.

"Oh. Okay. I just wanted to know."

"Sure thing, Tony. Now why don't you come over here and let me help you get dressed. Bruce, go on over to your bed and wait until I'm done with Tony here."

Bruce ran over to his green and purple bed and quickly climbed on, going under the covers. Tony slid off of his red and yellow bed, then going over to Alfred.

Before Alfred could do anything though, Arthur appeared at the doorway, Steve in his arms, nearly asleep. "I wanted to let Steve say night-night to everyone before he conked out. Say 'night-night' Stevie." Arthur hummed to the boy in his arms.

" 'ight 'ight." Steve yawned, then burying his face back into Arthur's sweater, showing the back of his Captain America pajamas.

"Good night, Stevie. I'll be in there to tuck you in once I get these two rascals in bed, okay?" Alfred said, knowing that he would get no reply.

"Good night, Steve!" Bruce said from his bed as he peeked out from under his green blanket.

"Good night, Steve." Tony said plainly, trying to suppress a yawn of his own.

Arthur smiled and walked off down the hall, going to put Steve in his bed in what used to be one of the three guest bedrooms. (Bruce and Tony are using another one.)

"Okay, Tony. I'm being super-super nice and letting you pick out the design on your pull-ups tonight. Iron Man or Hawkeye?" Alfred asked, pulling out two of them so Tony could see.

"Why do I halfta wear pull-ups?" Tony asked, just wanting to sleep, all of a sudden.

"Because you wet the bed at night, or so you and Natasha say. Now do you want to pick or not, buddy?"

"You pick. I'm sleepy."

"Okay, Hawkeye it is. Lift you left foot up for me, would you?"

Alfred and Tony soon finished getting the younger into his Iron Man pajamas and into bed. Bruce was already asleep, holding his blanket to his chest protectively.

"I guess I don't need to do anything else for you guys tonight. Just like when I took care of Tennie and Tucky." He murmured, remembering when at separate times he had taken care of his fifty states as young children.

His experience with the states was the reason why S.H.E.I.L.D. had put him on this 'assignment'. He was damn good at his job, it was almost odd. It also was Arthur's colonies experience that made the duo even better. Though sometimes he'd lose his temper, he was still pretty good when he needed to be.

Alfred sighed as he flicked on the night-light he had gotten, just in case one or both of them turned out to be scared of the dark, and flicked off the main lights, leaving the room soon after. He hoped that Arthur wasn't getting too nostalgic at the moment. _Hopefully Steve wasn't driving him down that depressing path._

When the American got into Steve's room, he found Arthur humming a lullaby softly to the child, who had apparently been crying, for he could hear faint sniffles in the direction of the crib.

"Hi guys. What's up in here?" Alfred whispered, walking over to the crib and peeking down inside to see Steve, looking up at Arthur (and now him) with wide blue eyes that seemed to have tears in them. He was clutching his teddy bear which he had named 'Bucky' for dear life.

"Steve got upset once I turned the lights off, he might be afraid of the dark, either that or he doesn't want me to leave. He won't answer my questions." Arthur replied, putting a hand through his dirty-blond hair in exhaustion.

"Oh, you poor thing. I'll be here until you fall asleep, will that make you feel better?" Alfred murmured, reaching a hand down and brushing some of Steve's hair out of his face.

"Yes Daddy. I'm sweepy." Steve whimpered, grabbing Alfred's arm with his free hand.

Alfred froze. _Daddy?_ He in his long life had never heard Steven Rogers say the word 'daddy' towards him. This predicament made him shiver. Not even his states called him that. They preferred to call him Al, at the very least. "So I'm a daddy now, Stevie?" he asked, hoping the boy would respond.

"Yes, and Arthur is Papa." Steve replied, yawning again.

Alfred left it at that and waited for Steve to fall asleep, which didn't take long at all. Once the toddler was asleep, he turned to Arthur, and hugged him tight. "He called me 'daddy', Art. He actually called me that." The man whispered, almost feeling joy but really more fear going through his veins.

"Yes, yes you are, love. Isn't it an odd feeling, Alfred?" Arthur sighed, hugging him back while also guiding him out of the room.

"It's a feeling I've never felt before. Now….I almost don't want Steve to be cured, or any of the rest of them, for that matter. I've known all three of them for a pretty long time, and now I've just gotten attached all-over again. Just like I did ten years ago."

Arthur knew what he was talking about, but he refused to think of it more than that. Now that Alfred was his lover, Alfred shouldn't hang on to past lovers like that. It was absolutely childish and he had learned that the hard way centuries ago. He didn't want Alfred to ever go through that.

"Lovely. Let's just go to bed and rest our tired minds. I'm sure we'll be awakened by _someone_ during the night, so we might as well get a head-start if we can." Arthur said, pulling Alfred into their room, where they immediately start to suck at each other's faces, for lack of a better description.

_**Sometime in the middle of the night….**_

Bruce couldn't sleep, not one little bit. Well, he _had_ slept okay for a while, but now he was awake and no matter what he did, he couldn't go back to sleep. He tried all sorts of different positions, humming quietly to himself, even pacing around the room to make himself tired, all to no avail.

Then he got an idea. Maybe Mister Arthur could help him get back to sleep! _That was brilliant, Banner!_ He thought to himself as he made his way over to the door, which was coincidentally next to Tony's bed. As he was opening the door, Tony shot up from under his covers, almost causing Bruce to scream. Instead, he hissed "What?!"

"Why are you leaving the room, Bruce?" Tony asked sleepily, looking over the bed at him.

"Because, I can't sleep, Tony. I thought that maybe Mister Arthur could help out or something like that."

"No Bruce. Sleep in my bed with me. It's warm up here, you'll go to sleep quickie-quick! I promise!"

"Well….okay. If your promise is right."

Tony was actually relieved inside when Bruce joined him on the bed. He had had a nightmare before he had woken up, and now Bruce would probably scare them away!

Once they got comfortable, it was only a short amount of time before they went to sleep.

All was good for the rest of the night.

**TO BE CONTINUED….maybe! **

**Author's Note!**

_Hey peeps out there. I hope you enjoyed this awesome crossover story, and cannot wait for more to come! I just wanted to tell you guys that this is probably the most edited Fanfic chapter I've ever done. I actually typed more then I had in my notebook, and I deleted a scene, added three whole new scenes, and so forth. _

_So watch out for the next chapter, and hopefully, I'll have a name for this thing by then! xD _

_See you out on the web!_

_~Cuppycakes_


	2. Chapter 2

"_Oh crap. Okay, now something really doesn't seem right here. First it was Cap, Tony, and Bruce. Now it's Clint too. What are we gonna do, Agent Romanov?" S.H.E.I.L.D. agent Maria Hill asked her fellow agent as they watched from a window as a toddlerfied Clint Barton slept._

_ "I can't really say for sure. But I do know that we should let Kirkland and Jones know about this problem. I think that they possibly could take him in, if the other three aren't taking their toll on them." Natasha replied, tapping the glass in front of her gently._

_ "I'll do that for you, sir." Maria said, beginning to walk away._

_ "Just wait a few hours. After dealing with those kids for an hour, I know I was exhausted. They're probably dead tired. So let them sleep."_

_ Maria nodded, then continuing her walk down the hall._

_**At The Kirkland-Jones Residence**_

The first night with the toddlerfied Avengers went quite well, with no disruptions for Alfred and Arthur.

Soon, it was morning, the bright sun shining through the windows of the two countries' shared bedroom. The very first things heard over the set of baby monitors were a load cry, and whispers of "What the cheese puff was that?"

Turns out Steve stubbed his toe on a leg of his crib as he somehow managed to climb out of it. Now, he was crying softly under his crib, holding his 'Bucky' bear in his arms.

The door to the boy's room opened, showing a concerned, messy-haired Alfred, still in his Bugs Bunny pajamas. He went over to where Steve was, and lifted him up into his arms, cooing softly to him.

Steve looked up at him with teary eyes, still crying enough for Alfred to be worried. Though not too long after, his cried were reduced to whimpers as he wiped his eyes with his free hand, being bounced lightly.

"Are you all right now, Stevie?" Alfred asked softly, placing Steve on the carpeted floor of his room, coming down with him.

"Yeah. My toe hurt, Daddy." Steve said, lying down on his back.

"What did you do to it?"

"It hitted somthan'."

"You poor kiddo. Let me see your toe, Steve. Which one is it?"

Steve pushed his left foot forward, letting Alfred inspect it, telling him that he would be okay.

Right after that, the door burst open, Tony running into the room. "HI, Mister Alfred! Didja sleep good? Huh? Didja didja?" He asked, going over to him and hugging his arm.

"He's Daddy, Tony. Rememba dat!" Steve protested, kicking his feet towards Tony.

"Right, sorry Steve. Well, did you sleep good last night Daddy? I did! 'Cause Bruce slept in my bed too!"

"Oh, how cool, Tony. I slept okay last night. Now, why don't you go and wait in the kitchen for me and Steve. I'll be making breakfast for everyone, cause Papa's cooking absolutely _stinks_. Literally."

"Bruce is already up and in the living room, Daddy. I'll go in there with him!" Tony said as he ran out of the room, to join Bruce.

"We gonna 'ave pancakeys?" Steve asked, a smile almost gracing his adorable face.

"Yeah, we're gonna have pancakeys. With lots of syrup. Enough to make Papa go crazy!" Alfred laughed, picking Steve up into his arms.

"Cwazy Papa!" Steve exclaimed, clapping his hands happily.

They duo walked out of the room and down the hall, where they could hear the theme to _"Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" _playing in the living-room, followed by Tony and Bruce yelling "Avengers, Assemble!"

"Tony and Bwuce silly, Daddy." Steve said, looking at the pair in the living room, who were making laser sounds at each other.

"Yes, they really are. But that's a good thing." Alfred replied, entering the kitchen, where he found Arthur, who he didn't know was awake.

"Good morning, Steve, Alfred. Did you two sleep well last night?" Arthur asked as he dipped his teabag into his cup.

"That is the second time I've been asked that, and yeah, I slept good."

"I swept good, Papa." Steve answered, starting to wiggle in Alfred's hold.

Alfred soon noticed and set him down on the floor, letting him crawl off under the table. Arthur laughed as he watched the boy go under, and he glanced at Alfred.

"Alfred. You didn't sleep good, now did you? I saw you turning and nearly crying in your sleep. What happened?" Arthur whispered, looking at him with stern, green eyes.

"I….Dreamed about the states. That's what happened. I dreamed about how they all just grew up and left me. Well, they just stopped caring about me like they were my kids. They treat me like a co-worker or boss now. It really _hurts._" Alfred murmured, sitting in the chair next to Arthur.

"That makes sense. And now you have these three. I know how that must feel on you. My counties did the exact same to me around the time I began to conquer the world and have colonies. It took me a long, long time to get over the companionship I had just lost, but in ways, you guys made me better."

Suddenly, the phone rang. Alfred got up quickly and went over to the yellow receiver and picked it up. "Hello? Who's this?"

_"Hello Agent Jones. This is Agent Maria Hill on the line." _

"Oh. This must be bad, isn't it?" Alfred murmured, eyes flicking over to Arthur in worry.

_"Last night, Agent Barton was somehow reversed to a toddler, just like the others. We were wondering if you could possibly take him in."_

"Let me ask Arthur. This is technically _his_ house here. So I'll ask him real quick, wait a moment, please."

Alfred placed the receiver down on the counter, and then went back over to the table.

"What do they want now, love?" Arthur asked as he peered under the tablecloth at Steve, who was apparently doing something funny enough to give Arthur a smile.

"Hawkeye has been put into the same situation as the others now, and S.H.E.I.L.D. wants us to take care of him too. I think we should, in my opinion. We have another spare room, or he could share with Steve. And, it wouldn't be fair to just leave him with the agency." Alfred explained, not noticing as Steve came out from under the table and grabbed onto his leg.

"If this is up to me, I would say yes. We could now split up the kids if we ever so needed, which I'm sure will happen eventually. Tell them that we will take him in, but to take him shopping first. Make sure they get everything he needs. I don't feel like shopping again."

Alfred nodded, right when Steve started pulling on his pant leg.

"What is it, Steve?" Alfred asked, looking down at the toddler.

"We getting a Hawkeye?" he questioned, looking up at Alfred.

"Yes. But Hawkeye is a toddler just like you, not a bird. I think he'll be here later on today."

_**Later on that day….**_

Tony and Bruce were playing tag with Arthur in the front yard shortly after lunch while Alfred and Steve investigated some flowers in Arthur's garden. The group was waiting for S.H.E.I.L.D. to bring Clint and his things over so he could stay. When all the kids had heard during breakfast that morning, they had become very excited and couldn't wait to meet Clint.

"Hey Daddy. When is Cwint gonna get here?" Steve asked as he placed a poppy into Alfred's hair.

"I should hope it will be soon, Stevie. It's starting to get close to naptime for you guys, and it would be awful if he came while you guys were sleeping." Alfred said, putting a lilac into Steve's hair.

"Me too. Wow, we're gonna be flowery, Daddy!"

"Yeah, we will! Do you want another one in your hair?"

Meanwhile, Tony got tagged by Bruce, who quickly ran off in the direction of the porch. Tony froze in place for a moment, deciding that he needed to go inside. _The urge to use the bathroom was very apparent. _

"Uh, Papa! I need to use the bathroom!" Tony yelled over to Arthur, who was behind a bush, hiding from him.

"All right, Tony! Don't take too long, or I'll come and find you!" Arthur yelled back.

By then, Tony was already opening the door so he could get inside. Once that was accomplished, he ran as fast as he could to the nearest bathroom. _Phew. He made it._ _Barely._

While Tony was using the bathroom so happened to be the time that S.H.E.I.L.D. and Clint decided to show up at the house.

Bruce was the first to notice the chopper coming down from the sky, almost silently. He ran off of the porch when he saw it, and went to join Arthur behind the bushes. "Hey Papa, I see a really big helicopter up above the yard. You think it might be Clint? Maybe Natasha?" he asked Arthur.

"Could be. Let's go tell Daddy and Steve in case they don't know yet." Arthur said, taking Bruce by the hand and going over to the flower garden.

Steve looked over as Bruce and Arthur made their way over to them. Alfred noticed this, and got up from where he was sitting, a few flowers falling off his head.

"What's up, Artie?" Alfred asked, going over to him and Bruce.

"I think Clint's coming!" Bruce said, before Arthur could say a word.

"Oh, okay. Well, let's wait on the porch. Where's Tony?"

"Tony went to use the bathroom. I'll go get him, it has been more time then I like."

Arthur walked off towards the house, and Alfred led Bruce and Steve to the porch. Steve was practically exploding in excitement, hopping behind Alfred. Bruce was hopping along with Steve until they got to the stairs.

The chopper soon lowered down onto the front yard, thankfully not damaging too many plants. The doors opened, Natasha and Maria coming out, each holding one of Clint's hands.

Clint was now so small and frail-looking between the two strong, though agents. But his blue eyes showed a mischievous glint with determination. Alfred wondered if Clint would try to get into the air vents. _Hopefully not._

"Hello Agent Jones. Might I ask where Mr. Stark and Mr. Kirkland are at the moment?" Hill asked, coming up on the porch, Clint and Natasha following behind.

"Tony is using the bathroom, and Artie's supposedly bringing him out." Alfred answered.

"Tasha! How are ya?" Tony suddenly cheered, bursting out of the front door completely naked, Arthur following suit.

"I'd be better if you found some clothes to put on; I hadn't planned on seeing you like this again." Natasha said, covering Clint's eyes.

"I would _love_ to say the same, Tony. Go back to the bathroom so I can get some clothes on you!" Arthur said, steering the little genius back towards the main hall.

"Hi, 'Tasha." Steve piped up quietly, hiding behind a chair.

"What are you doing behind the chair?" Clint asked, making everyone turn their heads towards him.

"I dunno. What do you tink?" Steve said even quieter, making everyone strain to hear him.

"Oh. Sorry….." Clint apologized, thumb placed next to his lip in careful thought.

"No need to apologize, Clint. Why don't we all go inside, it is getting cold out here." Alfred said, breaking the silence as he shivered in his WWE sweatshirt.

"Sounds great! I'm about to turn into an ice cube, anyhow." Maria said, quickly going inside.

Once the large group was inside, with a fully clothed Tony, they all sat around the living-room fireplace drinking hot chocolate or milk. Clint and Steve did not touch their hot chocolates, but instead participated in their own staring contest.

"Papa, why are Steve and Clint staring so much? It's bothering me a teeny bit," Tony whined, kicking the sofa with the back of his sock-feet.

"I have no idea. But as long as they don't have rays in their eyeballs, they should be fine, I do believe," Arthur replied, rubbing Tony's back gently. "Asides, isn't it your turn on the Sorry! board?"

Tony nodded, then drew his card and made a whinnying noise as he got a go backwards move. He was playing Sorry! against Natasha and Bruce, with Bruce (as green) in the lead in pawns at the home-base.

"So, do you think you can handle all four of them? We still have Alfred's brother whom we could ask." Agent Hill asked, taking a sip from her cup of hot chocolate.

"Of course. I mean, it _is _sudden, but we can totally take them in! They are such cool kids so far, and I couldn't think of another soul who could take of them this good!" Alfred gloated, laughing afterwards.

Arthur chuckled, looking at his boyfriend with wise emerald eyes. _To think that only a year and a half ago he was going out with Tony Stark. Humph. Alfred was by far better. Maybe it was because of the history, or the things they could relate to like government situations. Or it could be the way they tag-team the crossword and Sudoku puzzles in _The New York Times_ so well._ He immediately told his mind to quit its babbling, that Tony had _nothing _to do with this! _To be honest though, he did. In a big way._

_ "You know, you almost have as much brilliance as I, Arthur Kirkland." _Arthur remembers Tony telling him once, after they had had a passionate round of lovemaking.

_"Almost as much, you say? I think I have more, Anthony Stark. You may be a maker of technology, but I am a maker of civilization as we both know it. I am a country, you know that quite well, love." _He had replied that night, his voice barely a whisper, but enough for the billionaire to hear.

He then remembered Tony sighing. It was that kind of sigh that one sighs when the truth is right and one gives up on an argument. Tony Stark doing that kind of sigh was very rare in any situation. Tony had dismissed himself after that to clean up in the bathroom, leaving Arthur wondering what word or phrase had triggered that sigh. He still did not know, even two years later.

"Um, Artie? You there?" Arthur was knocked out of his memories by Alfred waving a hand in front of his eyes.

"Oh! I am so sorry, I was thinking quite hard, if you must know." The Brit replied, shaking his focus back to the conversation at hand.

"That's okay, just making sure you hadn't had like a shock or something. Don't want a dead dude in the living-room!" Alfred pointed, looking relieved.

"Well, I think we are done here. We've gotten Barton the things he needs, you'll have to take care of the rest. I and Agent Romanoff will be leaving now, Fury wants us to report back to him as to what happened here." Maria said, standing up from her seat on a recliner. "I must also remark that the hot chocolate was fabulous. Thanks a ton for it."

"You're welcome! If you wanna drop by to see the squirts, then call before you come with your big ol' helicopters and stuff!" Alfred laughed, leading the two agents to the door, Tony and Bruce following behind.

Arthur glanced over to the younger two of the kids, and found that Clint had fallen asleep, and Steve was coming close to it. He walked over and picked them both up, going back to the door. "Good-bye, Maria, Natasha. It was a pleasure to have you today." He said kindly, softly rocking Steve to full sleep.

"Bye Tasha, bye Maria!" Tony and Bruce chorused, trying to be quiet but really failing.

Once the agents said their goodbyes and left the property, Alfred turned to the two still awake kids.

"Okay, I think that it is now naptime for the both of you! Steve and Clint are already asleep, so they will be getting a treat when they wake up." He said, swiftly picking up the two tots.

"Hey! I don't need a nap at all, Daddy! I slept lots last night." Tony complained, struggling to get out of Alfred's grip.

"I am tired, there was lots of stuff goin' on." Bruce murmured, burying his black haired head into Alfred's torso.

"Then that is decided then. Naptime for all of us!"

Arthur nodded his agreement, then yawning a large yawn, like that of a lion's. Tony giggled at Arthur's gaping mouth.

Alfred just shook his head, and took the two tots upstairs to their bedroom, Arthur following behind.

It was a couple hours later, all the kids had had their appointed naps, now they were all in Tony and Bruce's room playing with Tony's _Star Trek _Legos. Well, everyone except Clint. All he was doing was just sitting there next to the door and watching, like a hawk.

"Clint, aren't you gonna play Legos with us? You could be Darth Vader!" Tony asked, looking up from the numerous Lego buildings the trio was playing with.

"Don't feel like it, Tony. I wanna watch you guys." Clint pointed out, leaning back in the scoop chair.

"You're gonna turn to mush, Clint. Then the birdies outside are gonna eat you up. Maybe a doggie will get ya!" Tony decreed, then going back to infiltrating the Death Star.

That left Clint thinking. _If I turn to mush…..what'll really happen to me? Tony's gotta be lying to me! He just wants me to play with him and maybe take control of me! _

The brunette leaped off the chair and rushed out of the room and down the hall towards Alfred and Arthur's room. When he entered the bedroom, Alfred looked up from the sock-sorting he had been doing.

"What's up, little bird?" Alfred asked, looking over to Clint.

"Am I gonna turn into mush if I don't play Legos? Tony says I will, but I'm not sure, Alfred." Clint panicked, quickly climbing onto the bed next to Alfred, grabbing his shirt.

Alfred sighed slowly, and gathered Clint into his lap. "Tony is wrong to an extent. It would take an awful long time to turn to mush. Don't you dare worry about any of that. He loves to make up big stories to scare people."

"Oh. Can I stay with you anyways, Alfred?"

"Sure, you can. I'll teach you how to sort socks. Arthur always likes his socks in a special sort, and now that he's busy taking care of you guys, I'm the one who really has to do the sorting."

"I wanna know how to sort them, that will make Papa happy, won't it?"

"Yeah, he'll be very grateful, he might even do something nice back. It's just how he is."

_"Do you think we'll last, Jones?"_

_ "How do you think I know, Barton?" Alfred asked, caressing Clint's arm, which had been recently broken on a mission for S.H.E.I.L.D. _

_ "I just figured, you being _America_ and all….That maybe you would have a clue." Clint murmured, laying back on the cot._

_ "I'm not nearly as old as like um, England. I have not been in many long term relationships. History is a bitch, you know."_

_ Clint nodded, and put his uninjured arm around Alfred's middle, pulling him close. He then looked up and kissed Alfred's collarbone. Alfred shivered, returning the kiss in his hair._

_ "I love you more than you'll probably know, Jones." Clint whispered, gently rubbing Alfred's back._

_ "I love you more than I love Yellowstone, let's just say that!"_

_ The two men erupted into laughs, and they actually did take a private un-notified trip to Yellowstone National Park, with a picture of them kissing next to a wild buffalo which they kept deep to their memories, and their private photo albums. _

Alfred opened his eyes, realizing that it was now almost dark in the room. After some feeling around him, he noticed that Clint was still there, staring at him behind a pillow.

"You're awake!" he gasped, tossing the pillow aside.

"I am very much awake. Please tell me I didn't do anything." Alfred said, fogginess still in his voice.

"Nope. We finished sorting socks and then you said you wanted to sleep, so you did. I didn't leave cause I don't want to go back and play with Tony." Clint replied, flopping down beside him.

"Do you not like Tony, birdie?"

"No. He's a lair. His hair is messy too. Last, he eats like a pig."

Alfred broke out into cackles, completely agreeing with him. Clint soon joined in, and that was where Arthur found them, only minutes later.

"You two are bloody insane." Arthur chirped, turning on the lights.

"Why thank you!" they chorused at the same time.

_**At Dinner, Only Half an Hour Later**_

The group had decided to head out to Olive Garden, after asking if they would behave in public. For the most part, they did, aside from a few awkward moments provided by Tony.

"Are we gonna get to see the city soon, Papa?" Tony asked, ducking from Arthur's napkin trying to wipe off his spaghetti-sauce covered face.

"Tomorrow, if everybody's feeling like it then. We'll go and see all the sights, look at all the great shopping places, I know you'll want to, Alfred." Arthur answered, finally getting a hold on Tony's face.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Artie! Then Steve can see some really cool stuff, like The American Girl store!"

"But that's for girls, Daddy!" Tony protested.

"I know! I was just making a joke!" Alfred giggled, ruffling Steve's hair as he sat beside him.

"Good one, love." Arthur chuckled, a wide grin on his face.

Once they returned home, the younger ones were put to bed by Alfred while Arthur helped the older two take a bath.

"Do we really have to take a bath, Papa? Can we just not take one and just watch a DVD? Like the Captain America movie I got yesterday!" Tony complained, dragging his feet as he followed Arthur to the half bath they would be using for the event of bathing.

"No movies this late, Tony. Possibly on the weekend, we'll have lots of time to do stuff like watch movies. Alfred will be going to a meeting at the White House over the weekend, so it'll be just us." Arthur said, beginning to get them ready for the bath.

"Steve isn't gonna like Daddy bein' gone, Papa." Bruce murmured, taking off his glasses and placing them on the toilet, Arthur quickly putting them on the counter.

"I understand that, but Alfred will be calling every night before you go to bed, so it won't be like he'll be completely gone. Now get in the tub, Tony."

_"Ohhh, so you like shower sex, Arthur?" Tony breathed, slipping off Arthur's skinny jeans, letting them drop to the tiled bathroom floor with tiny 'click-clack's. _

_ "Indeed I do. The hot water makes the climax much better. Of course, the water and the lights make it ever the better, skin just glitters like a fairy's wings. Turns me on." Arthur replied huskily, beginning to unbutton Tony's shirt._

_ "Then let's get this show on the road, sweetheart."_

_ "I love it when you call me that, dearie."_

_**To Be Continued in Chapter 3!**_


End file.
